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Water Cooler Archive: August 2011

Riots continued for a third night in London and are reportedly spreading across the nation. British police appear to have lost control of the crowds who are setting building on fire, vandalizing and looting businesses, and robbing innocent bystanders. Published August 9 2011

Wisconsin is eagerly watching the recall election of six Republican state senators. Political observers from all over the country can agree the elections today and next week can give a hint as to where the political landscape is for both parties on a national level. The undeniable truth about five of these recalls is they will be decided by turnout of the Republican voter. Published August 9 2011

The clock continues to tick since President Obama made his proclamation on The Today Show in February 2009 that he would "be held accountable" if his financial agenda for the country did not turn the economy around. However, "the situation" the president currently finds himself and the rest of the country in is far from "nice." Published August 8 2011

Here's an interesting item to recall. In October of 2008, Gallup reported that Americans gave then Senator Barack Obama a huge advantage over Senator John McCain for who could better manage the economy Published August 6 2011

Senator John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, joined MSNBC's Morning Joe on Friday and used the Democratic "hostage" terminology to imply his frustration with both Republicans on Capitol Hill and Tea Party activists during the debt ceiling debate. He also told the Morning Joe crew why he believes points of view different from his should be ignored by the media. Published August 5 2011

Republicans touted over one trillion dollars in cuts to discretionary spending over the next ten years as part of the debt ceiling bill passed by both the House and Senate and later signed in secret by President Barack Obama.
However, as a result of the rule that brought to the floor the Budget Control Act proposed by House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, questions are now circulating about power to change the 2012 budget being handed over to the House and Senate Budget Chairmen. One number floating around the hill is $34 billion could actually be added to 2012 spending. Published August 3 2011

A bi-partisan twelve member joint committee or a "super congress" as some are calling it, included in the debt ceiling bill, will be set up following the legislation's passage. Member of the joint committee will be appointed by the four leaders in both parties from the upper and lower chambers. The committee has until Thanksgiving to produce a proposal to cut $1.5 trillion in future deficits. Congress has a deadline of December 23 to vote on the joint committee's recommendations. Published August 2 2011